A tissue retractor can be used during a surgical procedure, and in particular during minimally invasive surgical procedures, to temporarily displace tissue and create a working channel to a surgical target site. Such a retractor allows unobstructed access to the target site while limiting the amount of dissection required to reach the target site and reducing trauma to the skin and surrounding tissue. The retractor can be used, for example, to provide unobstructed access to a spinal disc, a vertebra, and/or vertebrae during spinal surgery, such as disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 10/937,180 to Landry filed Sep. 9, 2004, which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.
A tissue retractor is usually inserted through an incision made in a patient's skin. Insertion can be by blunt insertion, whereby the retractor is simply urged into the incision, or alternatively, insertion can be performed in conjunction with a plurality of dilators, whereby the retractor is inserted over the dilators after sequential dilation of the incision. In either case, insertion of the retractor within the incision can be made difficult due to friction of the skin and tissue against the retractor.
A tissue retractor typically includes a number of retractor blades, which are inserted into an incision made through a patient's skin. After insertion, it is desirable to adjust or move the blade within the incision to retract tissue away from the surgical target depending on the physician's preferences and/or the requirements of the surgical procedure. Movement of the blade within the incision can be difficult due to the tensile forces imparted on the blade by the skin and tissue.
Thus, there remains a need for a retractor or retractor assembly that obviates the disadvantages described above, for example, by allowing a physician to easily insert and adjust the retractor within an incision, and in particular, allowing movement of the retractor blade to a variety of tissue retracting positions.